


Healing Takes Time

by Starra



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Eiji's sister supporting her brother from the sidelines, Fluff, His sister's basically an OC I'm sorry, M/M, Post-Canon Fix-It, very minor angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 05:49:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17177102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starra/pseuds/Starra
Summary: Kanako's brother Eiji returns from America and brings a man back with him. Kanako is unsure how she feels about Ash at first, but begins to accept him once she learns how happy her brother is.





	Healing Takes Time

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I don't know if Eiji's sister has been named anywhere, but Kanako seems fitting.
> 
> The Ash/Eiji is really minor but it's there. I just want them to be happy :(.
> 
> Also the title is terrible but I really could not think of anything else, lol.

Okumura Kanako's brother, Eiji, had recently returned to Japan after spending a little over two years in America. Shortly after he came home, he told his family that a boy he'd met over there, Ash, would be coming to live with them. He'd explained that Ash had been through a lot of hard times and needed to be as far away from the causes as possible. Eiji hadn't elaborated much beyond that, and he'd said that it wasn't his place to talk about Ash's life.

 

Eiji had warned his family that Ash was dealing with a lot of trauma, and that he might say or do some strange things, but that he'd be helping Ash overcome them. Kanako had asked if maybe professional therapy would be better, but apparently Ash wasn't keen on the idea, and Eiji was the only person he was willing to confine in, and even then Eiji knew there were things Ash wasn't telling him.

 

Ash didn't speak Japanese, but Eiji had said he was teaching him. Kanako couldn't help but admire her brother's dedication and perseverance to helping this boy who he'd met only a couple of years ago. She wondered if there was something more to it, but that wasn't for her to ask, and it didn't matter either way. What mattered that her brother was now happy, and Kanako and her mother could tell he had changed dramatically in the time he'd been overseas.

 

Ash arrived two weeks after Eiji had returned. He had blond hair and green eyes and looked even more captivating than he had in the photos Eiji had shown them. Kanako also thought that he looked very tired and he had an aura of sadness about him. They awkwardly exchanged introductions and greetings, as Kanako's English wasn't very good, but Ash at least tried to give a two-sentence introduction in Japanese.

For the most part, Ash spent his time together with Eiji. They mostly stayed at home, watching TV and the like. To Kanako, Ash seemed perfectly normal, just a bit shy. He always said hello to her when he saw her, and Kanako thought his Japanese was slowly improving.

 

Kanako was helping Eiji make curry for dinner one night when she decided to ask a question that had been bothering her.

"Why don't you take him out more, Oniichan?" she asked while chopping some carrots.

Eiji paused before answering. "Ash... doesn't like crowds," he explained slowly, dicing the beef.

"But Izumo doesn't _have_ crowds," Kanako said.

"He said he doesn't feel safe," Eiji sighed. "He's used to carrying a gun around in America to protect himself, but he can't do that here."

Kanako had heard about Americans and their guns. It seemed strange to her that a person like Ash would need to own a gun. "But nobody will hurt him. And you'd protect him anyway..."

Eiji laughed. "I know that," he said. "But I only want to do things he's comfortable with. He'll get there. It'll take him a while, but one day I might even be able to take him to Tokyo."

"You haven't even tried taking him to the hot spring," Kanako commented, having now finished her task of carrot chopping. "That might be good for him."

Eiji stopped moving his knife and tensed up slightly. "I... can't do that," he said quietly.

"Why not? Does he not like baths?" Kanako asked, afraid she might have said something offensive.

"No, not exactly..." Eiji said. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you why."

"I understand," Kanako replied, even if she didn't. "A lot of foreigners find hot springs and public baths weird, he's probably just shy..."

"It's... not that..." Eiji muttered as his shoulders drooped slightly. "I'm sorry," he apologised again. "He said not to tell people."

"I'm sorry too, Oniichan," Kanako said, realising she'd upset him. "I just... I thought it would help him relax a bit. And, you know, you guys could go on a date or something."

Eiji laughed again and resumed cutting the meat. "We'll get there eventually," he said. "I don't mind how long it takes. I'll support him no matter what."

Kanako could tell that Eiji cared for Ash in a way that couldn't properly be described in words. Her brother was devoted to him unlike anything she'd seen before.

"You really love him, don't you, Oniichan?" Kanako said softly. She expected her brother to get flustered and tell her off or deny it.

Instead, Eiji said in a calm, gentle voice that she'd never heard from him before: "Yes, I do. I love Ash more than anything in the world. He means everything to me. I treasure him with all my heart."

Kanako was surprised that he'd said that much. But she was happy he told her.

"I'm glad," Kanako said, "that he's found you, and that you've found him. I'm sure he loves you too, Oniichan."

"T-Thank you, Kanako," Eiji said, his voice shaking slightly. Kanako smiled at him.

 

They finished making the curry in silence, only talking if the other needed instructions.

 

* * *

 

Some days later, Kanako decided that she wanted to get to know Ash a bit better. All she knew about him was that he was a year older than her, lived in New York and was really smart. She'd come up with a short survey, and had used Google Translate to translate the questions into English for her. She'd thought about asking her brother, but Eiji might have filtered out some of the questions, and Kanako wanted to do this by herself, anyway.

 

Eiji had gone out shopping with their mother for groceries, and Ash was sitting in the living room, reading a book.

"Excuse me..." Kanako piped up in English from the doorway, clutching the sheet of paper and a pen in her hands. Ash glanced up at her through his reading glasses.

"Yeah?"

"I, um..." Kanako walked over to him. "I want to... learn... more you. Questions..." she mumbled in extremely broken English, hoping Ash would at least somewhat understand.

"Oh, uh, sure," Ash said, as Kanako handed him the paper and pen with an awkward smile. Ash awkwardly smiled back at her. "You speak English?" he asked.

"No..." Kanako shook her head. "These are... um. Internet?" she tried to explain.

"Ohhhh okay," Ash nodded. "Gimme a bit." He twirled the pen in his fingers before he began writing.

 

They hadn't spoken much. Eiji usually translated for them, and most of the time they weren't alone together like this.

 

Kanako watched as Ash answered the survey and hoped the questions made at least some sense. They were pretty basic, but she really didn't know much about him at all. Ash took only a few minutes to fill out his answers and gave the paper back to Kanako.

" _Arigato_ ," he smiled in badly-enunciated Japanese. Kanako couldn't help but chuckle. At least he was trying.

 

Kanako thanked him in English and went to her room.

 

_Q1. When is your birthday?_

_A. 8/12_

 

 _Q2. What is your favorite food?_  

_A. Eiji's shrimp and avocado salad_

Specifically her brother's. Wow.

 

_Q3. What is your least favorite food?_

_A. Pumpkin and natto! Yuck!!_

(He'd drawn a grossed-out face next to this one)

 

_Q4. How did you meet my brother?_

_A. He wanted to take photos of me._

 

_Q5. Tell me about your family._

_A. No family_

Kanako paused as she read the answer. He didn't have a family? She wondered what had happened to them. Had they died? Did he simply not talk to them? She knew better than to ask.

 

_Q6. Where did you go to school?_

_A. I was homeschooled_

She didn't know that word. She'd have to ask Eiji about it later.

 

_Q7. What are your hobbies?_

_A. Reading, probably_

 

_Q8. Is there anywhere you'd like to visit in Japan?_

_A. Don't know. Skytree?_

Kanako laughed. Tokyo Skytree was such a basic answer. Cute.

 

_Q9. Do you like Japan?_

_A. Yes (Eiji's here)_

(He'd drawn a small picture of Eiji that he'd labelled)

 

_Q10. Is there anything you would like us to do to help you?_

_A. No, I'm okay. Thank you._

 

Kanako sighed. She hadn't learnt much. And she knew she'd upset him slightly by asking about his family. She'd have to somehow apologise to him later.

 

* * *

 

Over time, Ash and Eiji slowly began to leave the house more. Eiji said they usually just went to small shops for lunch, or went to visit Eiji's high school friends (who, apparently, were very intruiged by Ash). Things seemed to be going well for them, and Kanako was pleased they were both happy. She and her mother kept their distance, but Ash's Japanese was improving, so he was trying to talk to them more.

 

Kanako had learnt what "homeschooled" had meant, and after explaining to Eiji that she'd asked Ash some questions about himself, was thoroughly lectured by her brother for being insensitive. Ash's behaviour didn't change towards Kanako after that, so it was probably that Eiji was trying to protect him rather than Ash actually being that bothered by it. Hopefully.

 

One night, on her way back to her own room from the bathroom, Kanako heard screaming coming from the direction of Eiji's bedroom, which stopped her in her tracks. Eiji had said not to bother him and Ash at night (Kanako had her own theories as to why that was, despite what Eiji may have claimed, but she kept those to herself), but she decided to check on them just to make sure things were okay.

She slowly slid the door to Eiji's room open. "Oniichan, are you two okay?" Kanako asked quietly.

She couldn't make out much in the dark, but she could tell Eiji was sitting up in the middle of the floor, cradling Ash in his arms, who was quietly sobbing.

Eiji looked up at her. "Kanako?" he whispered.

"Sorry..." Kanako mumbled. "But I heard him, and..."

"Eiji..." Ash whimpered.

"Sshh... Ash... it's okay..." he murmured into Ash's ear. "I'm here. Don't worry..."

Ash let out an audible sob. "Eiji..." he choked, calling the older man's name again. "Eiji..."

Eiji gave Kanako another look. She nodded at him without saying anything and left, shutting the door behind her. She stood there for a few moments, listening as her brother continued to soothe Ash, just like a mother would with their child.

The next morning, Kanako made sure to ask her mother to give Ash extra large servings at breakfast. Her mother didn't question why. Kanako didn't mention anything to Eiji, and Eiji didn't mention anything either. From the looks of Ash, he didn't even remember. Kanako wondered what nightmares made him cry out like that, but she knew she needed to keep her curiosity to herself.

 

* * *

 

Ash had been staying with them for over a year now and had made a considerable amount of progress. He and Eiji had managed to visit Tokyo for a few nights (and yes, they'd been up the Skytee), which Eiji said went well for the most part, other than Ash almost having a panic attack on a very crowded train once. Thankfully, Eiji had been able to calm him down in time, or so he'd told Kanako.

 

One cold night in late February, they were enjoying nabe under their kotatsu. Ash was helping with the cooking now, and was rather good with cutting things. Ash said he'd had "a lot of practice" with knives, whatever that meant.

 

After dinner, once they were settled down with their tea, Eiji spoke up.

"Um. Mom, Kanako?" They both looked over at Eiji and Ash.

"Yes, Ei-chan?" their mother asked.

"We uh... h-have something we'd like to tell you..." Eiji said slowly, blushing.

"Eiji," Ash sighed. "You were the one who wanted to do this, you know. C'mon," he said with a smirk. His Japanese wasn't perfect, but he was able to converse with them now.

"A-Ash and I... um. We're. We're... d-dating..." he announced, his face red.

"Oh!" their mother exclaimed excitedly. "That's great! Congratulations!" She smiled happily at her son and his now-boyfriend.

"T-Thank you..." Eiji muttered.

Kanako wasn't amused. "You're only _just_ dating?" she asked, frowning.

"Nah," said Ash. "We started in January. Eiji's just been too shy to say anything," he grinned, causing Eiji to blush even more.

"But you told me you loved him like two weeks after he got here," Kanako complained.

Ash looked at Eiji with a raised eyebrow. "Did you now, Eiji?"

"That... That's different!" Eiji spluttered. "I mean. It's not. But. I-I still..." he trailed off and hid his face in his hands. Ash laughed.

"So who confessed?" Kanako asked, wanting all the gossipy details.

"I did," Ash replied. That wasn't what Kanako had been expecting. "After we went to the shrine on New Year's, I thought, right, I'm going to do this. So I told him."

"...Wow." Kanako could only imagine her brother's extremely embarrassed reaction. "But I'm happy for you two," she added. "I could tell right away that you both cared deeply about each other." Their mother nodded in agreement.

"I still can't believe it," Ash said. "I don't know how I managed to find Eiji, but I did. And he found me. Eiji is... my soul." Ash pulled Eiji's hands away from his face and held them. He looked Eiji in the eyes, smiling gently.

"...A-Ash," Eiji mumbled, "you can't... say things like that in front of my family..."

"We don't mind," Kanako commented, amused. "Go on."

Ash let go of Eiji's hands. "Don't worry," he said. "It's not like I'm gonna _kiss_ you in front of them or anything."

"Gah!" Eiji shouted. "You better not!"

Ash laughed again. "You're so _cute_ when you're embarrassed, Eiji."

"No I'm not!" Eiji retorted. " _You're_ the cute one!"

Ash was taken aback by his response, but laughed once more. Eiji's expression softened into a smile.

 

 _They really do love each other_ , Kanako thought, knowing that her brother was truly happy having found his soulmate. Kanako hoped they'd be able to continue being happy together as Ash kept recovering. She'd support them as much as she was able to, and she knew their mother would, too.


End file.
